The light kiss they shared gradually deepened without either realizing it. As it grew increasingly intense, Ruth used the moment when Ail’s grip on him slackened to push him away with all his might. He stood up from his seat, leaving Ail sprawled back and staring up at him in bewilderment. Ail’s gaze seemed to ask, What are you doing, when things were just getting good? In response, Ruth slightly lowered his head in a polite gesture.

“Then, please rest well.”

“What?”

“You should get some rest. I’ll inform the commanders about tomorrow’s route and issue some orders before retiring to my room.”

It was true they needed to prepare for tomorrow, and even Ail couldn’t argue against that. However…

“Come back here.”

“We’ll be traveling non-stop starting tomorrow. I’ll rest in my room tonight. Please sleep well tonight.”

While Ail had been sleeping, Ruth hadn’t been able to get proper rest. In fact, it was a miracle he’d managed to last this long. If he didn’t sleep tonight, he wouldn’t have the stamina to endure the journey ahead.

“What are you trying to pull here? You and Kamiel both.”

“This is only natural. I need some rest, too.”

“Then you shouldn’t have started something in the first place.”

Ail’s voice carried an accusatory tone. His words, self-centered as always, made Ruth shrug lightly.

“I didn’t start anything. It was you who initiated it, Your Highness.”

“But you went along with it.”

“If I’d refused, you would’ve gotten angry.”

“So, you’re saying, ‘Since you’d get mad if I said no, just accept this instead’?”

“Yes.”

Ruth’s resolute tone left no room for doubt, and Ail laughed, incredulous at his audacity.

“You insolent fool.”

Those words had become a habitual refrain by now. Ruth lowered his head again in a respectful bow.

“Well then, sleep well.”

With that final farewell, Ruth turned swiftly and walked toward the door. Ail’s piercing gaze burned into the back of his neck, but Ruth ignored it, grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door. As he stepped out, Ail’s chilling voice followed him.

“Just you wait, Ruth Kaizel.”

The words, spoken through clenched teeth, didn’t faze Ruth. He glanced back briefly, offering Ail a slight bow before stepping out with light, unhurried steps. A loud thud echoed behind him as the door slammed shut, followed by the sound of something shattering. Ruth paid it no mind.

Ail had a habit of throwing things when he was angry. Still, there had only been a handful of times—three, to be precise—when he’d been so furious he couldn’t contain himself. Each time, it was because he’d needed some kind of outlet for his uncontrollable emotions.

Suddenly, Ruth recalled one of those moments. It had been when Ail had trashed his room after hearing that Ruth had been with Elsen. At the time, Ruth thought Ail was only pretending to be angry, but now he wondered if it had been genuine. That memory brought back another: the scar on his right hand from that incident.

As he raised his hand, his eyes caught the faint scar on his palm. A bitter smile crossed his face.

He wondered, If either of us had been more honest, could we have reached each other sooner? But he quickly dismissed the thought, realizing how foolish it was. Both he and Ail were the type to only speak the truth when pushed to their limits. Without things coming to this point, they would’ve continued circling each other, wounding and cursing one another.

Even now, there was no guarantee things would improve. Ail wouldn’t change, and neither could he—not easily, at least.

Looking back on the long, winding road they’d taken to get here, Ruth realized they could only have arrived at this point by following that very path. That thought brought a faint smile to his lips.

He felt a little bit happy.

—

The next morning, Ail left the estate. Rejin, who had only returned at dawn, was surprised when Ail greeted him and then immediately announced his departure. However, knowing there was no time to waste, Rejin offered to send his soldiers to escort them to the border of Rengetti.

As dawn broke and their preparations for departure neared completion, Ruth went to visit Kasha’s room. Though Kasha’s injuries were healing well, he hadn’t left his room for some reason and hadn’t run into Ruth, who had stayed by Ail’s side. Since Elsen and Rodin planned to see them off in person, Ruth decided to stop by Kasha’s room first. He knocked on the door and heard a voice from inside telling him to enter.

When Ruth stepped in, he saw Kasha standing by the window, gazing outside at the slowly brightening horizon. Without the slightest movement, Kasha’s eyes were fixed on something far off in the distance. Ruth approached him.

“I’ve come to say goodbye.”

At Ruth’s words, Kasha spoke without turning around.

“Are you going to your death?”

“No.”

“… Is that brat sparing you?”

At Kasha’s rough phrasing, Ruth smiled faintly.

“Yes, he’s sparing me.”

“Good for you.”

“Yeah.”

For some reason, Ruth felt a deep sadness as he looked at Kasha’s back, which he couldn’t approach carelessly. He already knew that Rejin’s mother had commissioned Kasha’s assassination. Thanks to that, he also understood who Kasha had come to die at the hands of. He could also now understand who Kasha had longed to see so desperately.

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“The person you’re talking about.”

As if he now knew everything, Ruth spoke. Kasha replied in a flat voice.

“I don’t know… I’ve been thinking about whether I should just kill him.”

“Kasha…”

“I’m still deciding. Should I strangle him, beat him to death, tear him apart…?”

Though the words were menacing, Kasha’s voice remained calm. Feeling that Kasha didn’t truly intend to kill, Ruth sighed and spoke.

“You love him.”

“I do. I love him so much, I almost want to kill him. If he’s going to leave me, I’d rather just kill him.”

“Didn’t you abandon him first?”

“I thought it was the right thing to do at the time… but not anymore. I’ve decided to just go all in.”

Ruth mumbled with a slight concern, noticing that Kasha had indeed gone all in.

“You’re too extreme.”

“That’s just who I am.”

Ruth couldn’t help but agree with that answer. He took a step closer to Kasha and asked,

“Why did you abandon him?”

“…Because he’s my only brother.”^[1]T/L notes: OMGWTF??! I am so flabbergasted, OMYGASH! WTH?!

Kasha’s quick reply caught Ruth off guard, and for a moment, he wondered if he had misheard.

“What?”

“My brother. The only one in the world… my brother.”

Ruth had grown up with Kasha and had never heard about Kasha having a brother. This could only be explained in one way.

“Half… brother?”

“No, my real brother. He was born two hours after me.” ^[2]T/L notes: Author wtf are you thinking? Wahhhhh. I ship them but wtf? You just took my breath and muddled my brains omy shit! The revelations I don’t fucking need.

A strong shock hit Ruth’s head. As he struggled to process Kasha’s unexpected revelation, he held his breath, and only then did Kasha turn around and begin explaining with a calm expression.

“My mother, when she was young, loved a man deeply. She wanted to do anything for him. The man was the lord of Rengetti, a man of royal blood with no shortage of wealth, but there was one thing that only my mother could provide. He had no heir with his wife.”

At this point, Kasha let out a deep sigh and slowly walked toward the table in the room, leaning against a chair. He exhaled again and continued his story.

“So, my mother, in collusion with his wife, went to a villa in the outskirts of Vera and gave birth to me. But I was born with black hair and blue eyes. In the Kingdom of Clozium, the first heir is determined not by direct royal descent but by the one with the strongest royal blood. What Duke Maynon wanted was not a son who resembled my mother, but a child born from his wife, who could become the first royal heir. So, I, who resembled my mother, was of no use to him. While the Duke was disappointed in the son who didn’t look like him, Rejin was born. The second-born, with brown hair and brown eyes, had the appearance that anyone would believe was the Duke and his wife’s child. So, the Duke’s wife moved to that villa just in time for my mother’s childbirth and took only Rejin. The three of them kept that secret until death. Rejin grew up as the Duke and his wife’s son, a true royal heir, with no relation to my mother or me. And I never knew I had a twin brother—at least not until we met again.”

Ruth couldn’t speak, still in shock from the shocking revelation. Kasha let out a dry laugh, as if finding something amusing, and continued his story.

“Not long after I took over managing Le Bleum, Rejin came to Le Bleum, dragged there by his friend. He was quiet and kind. I was drawn to him from the start. He seemed so pure… For the first few days, I teased him, then the next few days, I adored him… He was so lovable that I tried every possible temptation to keep him close. But he just stupidly didn’t fall for it and stared at me blankly, so I got frustrated and kicked him out. Then, two days later, he appeared again, awkwardly holding a bunch of flowers, begging me to forgive him if I was angry… I gave in and accepted them. We lived together for a year. For the first time in my life, I thought I could spend forever with this person… But then I found out he was my twin brother. It was a complete disaster. My mother was devastated, trying to apologize to me, and the Maynon family kept sending threats… I even got letters asking me to kill myself. I was so angry that I kicked him out. He’d said he wanted to leave everything behind and stay with me, so I kicked him out into the rain. Even though I knew that if he was in pain, I’d feel it too… I abandoned him. Even though I was angry, I shouldn’t have thrown him out… No matter what anyone said, I should’ve just kept him… He’s mine…”